Vladimir Putin. Nayib Bukele. Bashar al-Assad. Kim Jong-Un. 

It’s no secret that Donald Trump likes to cosy up to authoritarian leaders, often praising them for their hard-line stances and posing for photos with them.

Now, to appease Kim Jong Un, Trump has taken to social media to complain about how he ‘isn’t happy’ with the United States’ upcoming military exercises with South Korea.

‘These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful,’ he added.

‘Trump seems to see strong men and dictators as, in some way, kindred spirits. I think he recognises something of himself in them.

‘Men who get what they want and don’t give a damn about the rules? That’s Trump’s life philosophy.’ Dr Garner explained. 

‘It’s been the way he’s approached the world since the ’80s, back in the New York real estate days, and certainly the way he approached . And it’s the way he approaches government today.

‘Maybe he sees Kim Jong-un, and certainly sees Putin, as people he can do business with because he thinks he recognises in them a little bit of himself.’

But the President’s remarks about North Korea being ‘unthreatening and respectful’ propose a quandary for Trump and Kim.

For years, Kim has been bragging about ballistic missile tests, and in 2024, North Korea began sending thousands of troops to fight on the frontlines in Ukraine.

Dr Garner added: ‘So, there’s a bit of a risk in actually undermining the much longer-term propaganda that the United States is the enemy, the US is evil, American leaders can’t be trusted.

‘But other authoritarian leaders around the world are clearly not taking Trump seriously at all. They don’t think that he’s a serious or threatening negotiator. 

‘They don’t believe that he’s going to follow through on his threats, and that gives them permission to do what they want. And you’ve seen that most obviously in what’s unfolded in Iran over the last few months.’

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